Much has been made of the post-war Japanese economic miracle. However, the origins of this spectacular success and its effect on the region can actually be traced back to an earlier period of Asian history. In Japanese Industrialization and the Asian Economy, the authors examine the factors which contributed to the period of major industrialization from 1870 to 1940. They trace the roots of this growth back to 17th-century rivalry between Japan and China and describe how this acted as a spur to the expansion of Japanese manufacturing skills. They go on to examine how the development of the...